My final HH planning meeting

[Draakur]

Forget the Destroyers. ;)

Where the heck did the Soul Drinkers suddenly came from? ^^

Is this some sort of hint that you know what's coming? Don't fully understand lol.

[Kelborn]

Heck, no. ^^

I don't have a freakin' clue. ^^

 

I'm just wondering where the SD came from. Until the end of their series, everyone thought that they are IF descendants but that was proofed to be wrong in the last book.

Therefore I'm curious. They have to be present during the 2nd Founding and even the HH. From which Legion are they deriving? What happened to them that they joined the ranks of Dorn? I believe that he would never let former traitors join his Last Wall.

 

That's all I would like to see. ^^

And some serious BT action, of course! And Iron Snakes! Aaaaand.... Maybe some other stuff. :P

[DukeLeto69]

I've spoken many times about why the story split into so many narratives at the end of 'Fulgrim', but I reckon that's going to need a video explanation at some point. Watch this space.

 

The intention of the numbered volumes was that they would be the core storyline, to be read in that linear order. It's not a linear chronology of storytelling, which some people seem to think it should be - that's impossible, when you have 18 Legions and their primarchs all doing things at the same time. But more on that another day.

 

So far, we've seen 'The Honoured' and 'The Unburdened' as un-numbered novels (NOT NOVELLAS!) as well as 'Sons of the Forge' more recently. I've not commissioned any more until BL finished the Siege of Terra, now... but I dare say that we will see more of those un-numbered stories in future.

 

===

 

The colour banding was an interesting one. There WAS a method to it, at least in the beginning. RED was for the opening trilogy, and then there was another colour for a novel focusing on a specific event, another focusing on a specific Legion, another focusing on a specific primarch, etc etc. YELLOW was for anything in the Age of Darkness... and then suddenly, when I questioned it in 2011, we realised that this was a really flawed filing system... AND that there were at least three mistakes already.

 

So we decided to scrap it. Simple.

 

Future reprints will be without the coloured bands. I believe the platinum-blue foiled editions of older books are already colour-band free.

Laurie thanks for responding. On the linear question... Yes totally agree there is no way of telling the story in a linear way as so much happens concurrently, that was why I referred to a story spine (or something you could hang off various related but non essential stories perhaps focusing on the activity of X legion etc).

 

Colour band...great thanks. I suppose as the HH series grew in scope from what was originally envisaged the graphic designers soon realised they would run out of colours LOL

 

I too expect and hope for a The Scouring series - would seem silly not to! Also like the idea of HH era stories continuing (as a setting).

 

But as said by others above and by me on various threads what I REALLY want are stories/series set in the 10k years between 30k and 40k mining that rich IP. The Beast Arises was a great experiment with some flaws but overall really good and highly enjoyable. Really hope BL do more of these for other timeline entries (and that includes more politicking and "action" away from the battlefield).

[LaurieJGoulding]

But as said by others above and by me on various threads what I REALLY want are stories/series set in the 10k years between 30k and 40k mining that rich IP. The Beast Arises was a great experiment with some flaws but overall really good and highly enjoyable. Really hope BL do more of these for other timeline entries (and that includes more politicking and "action" away from the battlefield).

Vote with your wallet - buy 'The Aegidan Oath', and show BL that you want more of these eras covered...

http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/the-aegidan-oath-eshort.html

[Mellow]

I also pray - truly pray - for BL novels without battles or fights, or one where these are backgrounded to different ways of visualising the period or wider setting. There are many ways to depict war & confluct, and Id love to see more outside the (battle)box thinking. These 'setting' novels sound promising - it is not just bolters and chainswords reving into the night, it is imperium. What of home fronts, governments, politics, economics, religion, family, even love?

Like Eisenhorn?

[MrDarth151]

I was personally always sad that we never saw more of the Great Crusade. There are times when the entire HH falls kinda flat, because one of the main themes of it is how tragic the destruction of the ideals held by the Great Crusade was, and we never really see those ideals upheld in the first place.

 

Unification Wars would also be a fun idea for a novel.

[Taliesin]

I was personally always sad that we never saw more of the Great Crusade. There are times when the entire HH falls kinda flat, because one of the main themes of it is how tragic the destruction of the ideals held by the Great Crusade was, and we never really see those ideals upheld in the first place.

 

Unification Wars would also be a fun idea for a novel.

 

Absolutely second this as what is probably the main missing element for me.

 

The Horus Heresy is very good and one thing in it's own right, but it's Great Crusade stories that I've always wanted next to them.

 

Unification Wars as well.

 

And for something else, very keen on the two Chris Wraight novels due next year. I've seen Laurie hint at the importance of Carrion Throne and John French's  "Horusian Wars" book due mid 2017 with regards discussions about the Emperor, and what is going in at Terra in the current timeline, and possibly links to what is happening with the Golden Throne/can the Emperor be reborn etc theories. Something is happening...

 

And the second one, Emperor's Legion, where it is very vague what the period is, but it's about Custodes and Silent Sisters facing a massive threat.

Couild it be pre-Heresy? No, because the synopsis mentions the Golden Throne. But then, how can the synopsis possibly claim that this is the first time they are facing a threat that they cannot vanwuish with the two of them together, if we've already had the Horus Heresy...? That to me suggests pre-Heresy.

[DukeLeto69]

 

But as said by others above and by me on various threads what I REALLY want are stories/series set in the 10k years between 30k and 40k mining that rich IP. The Beast Arises was a great experiment with some flaws but overall really good and highly enjoyable. Really hope BL do more of these for other timeline entries (and that includes more politicking and "action" away from the battlefield).

 

 

Vote with your wallet - buy 'The Aegidan Oath', and show BL that you want more of these eras covered... ;)

http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/the-aegidan-oath-eshort.html

Already did!

 

Also very much looking forward to the Chris Wraight Inquisitor book and Custodes book as well as John French Horusian Wars series!

 

Now if we can just get Dan Abnett to finish Warmaster (ergo Farrer finishes Urdesh) and also write Penitent ... Then 2017 will be one of the best BL release years for a loooong time!

[veterannoob]

Thankful I'm sure we'll see the Unification Wars as well as more Great Crusade through Primarchs series as well at the very least. If next TBA is scouring or Age Of Apostacy that's cool, but I hold true I'll see the Unification Wars before I die. And with my name being Kenny, that could be at any time ;)

[Mellow]

All of the above for me. Horusian Wars, carrion throne, something about the unification wars. Emperors legion. I need these ebooks.

 

Also. Something about the iron and Stone Men. Like pre-war where everything is going super dandy and then things going a bit wrong rather slowly as people start noticing the machines acting a bit weird and then boom. Massive conflict with horrendous weapons of such magnitude that 30k/40k poop their pants. :)

[Draakur]

Not sure this is even an appropriate place for this, but I'll try: Laurie, have you ever been influenced by fan-made material (or even just suggestions) when deciding how you'll put a new or as yet untouched Chapter together in your literature? Have other authors, do you know?

[helterskelter]

Draakur: head over to the martian death ray club in age of darkness section, then read master of mankind ;)

[Kelborn]

Haven't read it but I know what it's about.

N1 boys. :tu:

[LaurieJGoulding]

Part of the aim of 'The Primarchs' novels was to be at least 50% Great Crusade era stuff, because there were no plans to do a GC series. That was the best I could get Publications to agree to, at the time - it was either that or EVEN MORE limited edition HH novellas...

 

 

Not sure this is even an appropriate place for this, but I'll try: Laurie, have you ever been influenced by fan-made material (or even just suggestions) when deciding how you'll put a new or as yet untouched Chapter together in your literature? Have other authors, do you know?

 

Not directly, to my knowledge. But I'll admit that every single story I've ever written has addressed concerns or annoyances that people have expressed in the fan community.

 

'Mortarion's Heart', for example, started off as a checklist of things that people felt didn't make sense, or that had to be explained for it to make proper sense.

 

I guess the writers who engage with the fans the most are the ones who take from those online discussions in terms of inspiration etc. But to directly lift ideas from fan works? Absolutely not.

[MrDarth151]

I know for a fact that some authors have expressed wishes for fan works not being written at all, to avoid plagiarism accusations for their ongoing series. Most do not read those works for the exact same reason.

 

I wonder, if someone written a particulary good work of 40k, published it on the internet and then sometimes later send it in for possible publication, what would happen? I would assume it would be automatically rejected, but I'm not sure.

[DukeLeto69]

 

I also pray - truly pray - for BL novels without battles or fights, or one where these are backgrounded to different ways of visualising the period or wider setting. There are many ways to depict war & confluct, and Id love to see more outside the (battle)box thinking. These 'setting' novels sound promising - it is not just bolters and chainswords reving into the night, it is imperium. What of home fronts, governments, politics, economics, religion, family, even love?

Like Eisenhorn?

Oh yes! And Ravenor, Bequin, Calpurnia, Dark Heresy, Necromunda etc

[Scribe]

I know for a fact that some authors have expressed wishes for fan works not being written at all, to avoid plagiarism accusations for their ongoing series. Most do not read those works for the exact same reason.

 

I wonder, if someone written a particulary good work of 40k, published it on the internet and then sometimes later send it in for possible publication, what would happen? I would assume it would be automatically rejected, but I'm not sure.

 

Yeah and thats not just in written work, I've seen the same concerns from graphics artists for other game communities. 'Well now that you drew that, we cannot use it in the game' kind of thing.

[DukeLeto69]

Part of the aim of 'The Primarchs' novels was to be at least 50% Great Crusade era stuff, because there were no plans to do a GC series. That was the best I could get Publications to agree to, at the time - it was either that or EVEN MORE limited edition HH novellas...

IMHO 100% of The Primarchs books should have been Great Crusade focused! A great way to explore without doing it as part of core HH series.

[Marshal Rohr]

I think plagiarism only applies to other published material and NEVER to fan fiction. If fan fiction was grounds for plagiarism allegations no series in the history of series would've made it to a sequel because frequently fan gets out so far ahead of the curve on publishing times, someone somewhere prempts the official story. I found a copy a handwritten army notes from years ago for my Black Templars that specifically mentioned the Custodes becoming active, the Phalanx fighting at Cadia, and the traitor Primarchs invading the Imperium. Someone always hits the same conclusion as the author by sheer trial and error. See the R+L=J theories that have been around since GoT was first published.

[Scribe]

I dont think its actual plagiarism, but the stink of it is something the official sources want to avoid?

[MrDarth151]

To my understanding, it's because copyright law is flexible enough to allow for authors being sued over using ideas already published even as free of charge internet works for compensation. You are very unlikely to win such case, but it still means months, possibly years of court fights.

[Marshal Rohr]

I mean sure, if tomorrow a BL novel was published about Jackdaw's Inq28 warband and all the names were changed we would all know where it came from, but there wouldn't be anything he could do about it.

 

That may be a bad example though, because I think Jackdaw may actually be published for other things so he'd have an agent or whatever authors have to defend their work, etc to go through that process. I'm not sure.

[helterskelter]

I'm pretty sure Mr Thorpe hasn't been in the murderers call and seen that my fluff contains a ship called the long shadows that I've had for longer than his novel.

But still i'll have to change that when battlefleet gothic comes back out :p

[Nineswords]

 

Bad eggs? Where? All the Forge World HH fluff is awesome!

 

I am not supposed to talk about it... but no, all FW HH fluff is most certainly not awesome.

 

Another Forgeworld take in the lore that I find most unfortunate is the "genetic-determinism". It was not Perturabo who had learned siege techniques growing up and then made his Legion into siege specialists. No, they were genetically engineered by the Emperor to be siege specialists. It was not Corax growing up as a freedom/guerilla fighter and then teaching that to his Legion that made the Raven Guard into stealth specialists. No, they were stealth experts even before Corax was found and reunited with the Legion. Being very analytical and mindful of mission parameters and casualties is not what Guilliman had studied on Macragge and then brought to his Legion. No, the Ultramarines Legion already used such doctrines before Guiliman was found. The Night Lords did not just start to be infused with more and more criminal scum after Curze was found and they started recruiting from Nostramo. No, the Legion had been founded with criminal scum right from the very beginning.

In Forgeworld lore, the Legions were no longer shaped by their Primarchs and how they happened to grow up on their homeworlds. Instead, virtually all of their unique doctrines had been built into them intentionally from the start. By cosmic miracle the Primarchs then grew up learning specifically those same doctrines their Legion had been genetically engineered to use in the first place.

 

 

Edit: To clarify, since here I go being all negative again: The forgeworld lore is for the most part very good, and of high quality. I usually refer to the Alpha Legion treatment as a very positive example, where Alan admirably managed to merge the older Codex descriptions of the Alpha Legion as ruthless and efficient combatants with the Black Library descriptions of secret infiltration agents in power armour.

 

 

I found your AL comment interesting. After reading the AL story arcs in the HH series several times, I was a little disappointed with FW's 'ghost legion' approach. To me, the AL embody your above statement about genetic-determinism - to me, it would've been far more interesting to have the AL as almost the perfected 'generic' Legiones Astartes template that were moulded into the infiltration specialists that we towards the end of the Great Crusade. 

 

On another note, Laurie, all the best for your new ventures in the USA. Be well!

[Tyriks]

 

Not sure this is even an appropriate place for this, but I'll try: Laurie, have you ever been influenced by fan-made material (or even just suggestions) when deciding how you'll put a new or as yet untouched Chapter together in your literature? Have other authors, do you know?

 

Not directly, to my knowledge. But I'll admit that every single story I've ever written has addressed concerns or annoyances that people have expressed in the fan community.

 

'Mortarion's Heart', for example, started off as a checklist of things that people felt didn't make sense, or that had to be explained for it to make proper sense.

 

I guess the writers who engage with the fans the most are the ones who take from those online discussions in terms of inspiration etc. But to directly lift ideas from fan works? Absolutely not.

I think that'd be a killer fan competition, though - some kind of home brew competition, winner gets their successor chapter (and/or a few characters) a cameo in a published novel.  Even just an offhand comment from a character in the novel ("Thanks to Captain Reginald T. Fistpunch and his Star Tomatoes, we managed to break the siege!").